Our first night in Decorah Sydney didn't sleep very well. At 4:30 she woke up for the fourth time and I was up for good. So I decided to go for a bike ride. I had never seen it so empty in downtown Decorah. I found a bike trail and rode out to the south and discovered the Decorah Fish Hatchery. The Eagle cam eagles were somewhere near the hatchery. The trail was beautiful. It followed the river and then used switchbacks to go up a steep hill in between farms. All along the river there were spots where it branched off directly to the river. I was wondering what these were for, and on my return trip I saw some fisherman using waders to go fishing.
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| Trout Run Trail |
Eventually I came to the end of the trail where it was under construction. So I headed back to town. On the way back when I went past the hatchery a hawk flew just 15 ft above my head. I stopped to take a picture and I heard it screech to some other hawks that I hadn't noticed. They were all hanging out staring into the pools of water at the hatchery. Looking at all the fish that they couldn't get to.
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| This is the hawk that swooped right over me |
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| It's hard to tell but there are three hawks standing around the pools |
Continuing on into town I followed the trail again. It went around the back of the town where I had never been before. Eventually going under the bridge by the Whippy Dip and continuing to Pulpit Rock. I took a wrong turn and ended up by Twin Springs park. I had never been there before either and it was beautiful. There were camp grounds and creek ran right through all the trails. Also I don't know if it's noticeable but I passed a house with the optical illusion shingles that was powered by solar tiles and windmills.
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| Whippy Dip Bridge |
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| You can't quite tell, but the roof looked bumpy from the shingles |
Once I figured out where I was I turned around and headed for Luther. Passing through the Pulpit Rock campground. The smell of campfire breakfast brought back memories of camp. I crossed the new bridge and climbed the hill by Larsen to get up to campus to take my tour. Visiting all my old dorms and seeing the new Bendtahl commons in the middle of campus. I also discovered a new garden between Ylvisaker and Dieseth. And for some reason Luther has named the Library Lawn. It is now Farwell Clearing and has been bestowed with a plaque. It seems unnecessary to try to name the Library Lawn but perhaps they got a discount on plaques for ordering a certain amount. Onward! I wound through campus eventually stopping by our old Beer Time spot in Baker Village before heading back home. There's something about Decorah that I haven't found anywhere else.
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| Marty standing watch |
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| Bendtahl Commons |
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| The Underground! |
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| Beer Time |
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